Over Coffee® | Stories And Resources From The Intersection Of Art And Science | Exploring How To Make Steam Work For You

(Photograph courtesy of Dr. Elisabeth Berry Drago, and used with permission.) Say the word "alchemy".  What comes to mind? If you thought of a bearded recluse trying to transmute lead into gold--well, that's not really accurate, says Dr. Elisabeth Berry Drago. Lisa, as she prefers to be called, is an artist, art historian and Public History Fellow at Philadelphia's Science History Institute.    One of her specialties is creating content that puts visitors into the stories her research uncovers.  Often, those stories are about the ways art and technology have worked together in society. Recently, Lisa curated the Institute's  exhibition, "Age of Alchemy", which is just one of a series of alchemy-inspired projects.   She's also creating content for a new digital game which puts players in the middle of a seventeenth-century alchemy lab.  "Age of Alchemy: The Goldsmith's Daughter" is based on some of the paintings of that era.  Lisa says the game is currently in prototype stage, with a projected release da

Robots.  We seem to view their role in our future with equal parts fascination and fear. A lot of that fear is unfounded, says Robotics Business Review senior editor Eugene Demaitre. When we look at robots, Eugene explains, one thing to remember is that we tend to overestimate them.  Even with artificial intelligence, there are some areas where a robot just can't do what a human can. But he completely appreciates the fascination.   Robots' capabilities, he says, could lead the way to a future that's a whole lot easier for humans. A frequent speaker on the topic of robotics, Eugene gave a presentation on the "State of the Robotics Industry" at the 2018 Sensors Conference, in San Jose in June.   He also presented at the 2018 LiveWorx Technology Conference, shortly thereafter. And if you missed these talks, he'll host a panel entitled, "The Robotics Market Has Arrived!" at the upcoming "RoboBusiness" conference, which runs September 25th through 27th in Santa Clara. Eugene talked about his technical ba

NextFab is an incredible makers' resource.  But they're not a makerspace. Instead, they are a network of makerspaces, in the Delaware Valley.  Specifically, their locations are in Philadelphia, North Philadelphia and--as of 2017--Wilmington, Delaware. During Podcast Movement 2018, in Philadelphia, we had the privilege of recording, live-on-tape from the Talkshoe booth, with two special guests. Anna Solomon is NextFab's Assistant Sales Manager.  She is also the first woman to graduate the University of Delaware's Entrepreneurship/Entrepreneurial Studies program.  Her background, as a maker, includes both engineering and economics, and she's been with NextFab since 2016, according to her LinkedIn page. Jezabel Careaga is a chef, designer, and the proprietor, both of Jezabel's Cafe and of sister business Jezabel's Studio in Philadelphia.   A talented maker, she is a NextFab member who designed and built many of her cafe's furnishings at the makerspaces!  As a chef, meanwhile, she fuses traditional Argent

(Photo courtesy of Ross Porter, and used with permission.) When he made the DQ Music Box, Ross Porter didn't set out to become a maker. With his invention, the "Dementia Friendly Music Player", he just wanted to give his father some happiness. But today, he's teaching others how to create the player--open-source. (Photo courtesy of Ross Porter, and used with permission.) Ross enlisted the help of fellow makers, especially nonprofit Makers Making Change, to make his vision a reality.  Along the way, he says, the makers gave him new ideas and ways to make his original idea even better. Currently, he has two models of the "Dementia Friendly Music Player", which are very easy for a loved one with dementia to use.  The basic box, shown above, is laser-cut. (Photo courtesy of Ross Porter, and used with permission.) Meanwhile, this cathedral-style "radio" case is--can you believe it?--3D printed! The DQ Music Box, Ross says, is easy to make in under two hours.  In fact, in 2017, Ross taught a group attend

Girls Make VR started by using virtual reality to solve TWO social problems. The first?  The underrepresentation of women in the tech field. And the second: the "divide" among us, in terms of education and future opportunities. Then, along the way, the program took on additional issues, such as poverty and homelessness. Georgia Van Cuylenburg is the Founder and Executive Director of  Los Angeles nonprofit Arts Bridging the Gap.  Arts Bridging the Gap's mission: the creation of top-quality arts programs for underserved youth. And one of those programs is Girls Make VR, for which Robyn Janz is Program Director. Girls Make VR, created in 2016 to educate young women from low-income areas, prepares them to be leaders in the tech field.  The program partners with top companies, including Samsung and the Entertainment Software Association. Since its inception as a workshop during VRLA 2016, Girls Make VR has expanded.  At the time of our interview, their after-school program was just about to wind up for

Kindsouls is an application.  It's also a relatively-new social network with a shared goal. But those descriptions barely do it justice. Through an app, members operate as "a community of kindness".  They encourage one another, offer everyone a place to share thoughts and feelings, and send loving messages of support. Kindsouls CEO Omeed Tabiei is no stranger to social innovation.  As an attorney and serial entrepreneur, his resume includes working with the Washington, D.C. small-business community as managing director of Think First Local DC, and as corporate counsel to Hyperloop, in Los Angeles. And with Kindsouls, which just did its full launch in March, Omeed is using technology to help others navigate through the sometimes-crazy experience that is daily life. Omeed talked about his background, the experience that led him to create Kindsouls and how the application works. On this edition of Over Coffee®, you'll hear: What first inspired Omeed to use his unique talents to work to make a difference

"Showing (is) better than talking," says Living Popups CEO Cheryl Bayer. And that's exactly what she and her team are doing. Living Popups is an interactive augmented-reality platform and media company.    The products Cheryl and company produce are episodic AR features.  And these projects, created with humor and imagination, have a number of purposes. For example, "Leonardo da Vinci" might fly into frame on a gyrocopter, in a museum.   Or, in an educational application, villainous pig "Napoleon" might pop out of the cover of George Orwell's classic "Animal Farm".  (He'll offer his views on dictatorship--and not surprisingly, he considers it a good thing!  However, he does think it's in need of a few "tweaks".) In addition, readers of Charlie Fink's Metaverse: An AR-Enabled Guide to VR & AR, get to see Living Popups' work firsthand throughout the pages.  The book festures an episodic augmented-reality series, starring the author's avatar and his two roommates.  This particular series, according to Living

What if you went downtown--and saw augmented-reality information on today's meal specials appear on your favorite restaurant? That's just one of the scenarios which AR/VR consultant, author and futurist Charlie Fink says is entirely possible. In his new book Metaverse: an AR Enabled Guide to VR and AR, Charlie explores the ways in which augmented and virtual reality may become part of our daily lives in the not-too-distant future. And he doesn't just write about it.   He literally illustrates it!  An augmented-reality app by Living Popups adds another dimension of information and entertainment to Charlie Fink's Metaverse. Charlie, who estimates the date for widespread integration at 2030, says the "killer apps" of the future are...us.  People. he says in Metaverse, will drive adoption of virtual and augmented reality into daily life.  The future vision he presents in his book is both exciting, and a little scary. People will be able to occupy each other's physical reality, Charlie writes--while they're t

(Photo courtesy of MATE Center, and used with permission.) Underwater robotics are pretty cool, anyway. But the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Center, in Monterey, starts there.    Then, they use underwater robotics to teach STEM skills applicable to daily life, with a healthy dose of creativity. (Photo courtesy of MATE Center, and used with permission.) MATE Center sponsors an annual underwater robotics competition for students of all ages.   Since its inception in 2002, their competition has expanded, to welcome student teams from all over the world.    MATE Center's seventeenth International ROV (remote-operated vehicle) competition is happening Thursday through Saturday, June 21-23, 2018. (Photo courtesy of Marine Advanced Technology Education Center, and used with permission.) Jill Zande is MATE Center's Associate Director.  In our 2017 interview, she shared the story of MATE Center, with which she's been involved since they opened in 1998, as well as the story of their underwater rob

(Photo by Maya Dondonyan, and used with permission.) Mezo towered over the show floor at VRLA 2018. Its twenty-foot temple was the centerpiece of the exhibition. Making its debut at VRLA, Mezo was an art installation, a mixed-reality experience, and an hour-long performance, combining augmented reality, lasers, effects and dancers. But, it's also much more than that. (Photo by Maya Dondonyan, and used with permission.) Christian Falstrup is the creative director and executive producer of Mezo.  He is also the co-founder of VRLA, which is the world's largest immersive technology festival. And while the line of attendees waiting to experience Mezo twined around the show floor, Christian's vision goes far beyond providing a memorable show. VRLA 2018 was just the beginning.  Christian's vision extends beyond a performance experience, to the ways attendees can change the physical world for a better future. Christian talked about his creative background, the story of Mezo and what's next! On this editi